Valerie Veira demits office having head JBDC for several years

Durrant Pate/Contributor

Harold Davis has been appointed Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) with the departure of long-time CEO, Valerie Veira, who has gone on retirement.

Davis, who has been Veira’s Deputy serving in that capacity since the agency’s inception in 2001. He is a trained Industrial Engineer with over 25 years of experience in industrial development. With a Master of Science degree in Innovation Management and Leadership from the University of York, UK, and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona.

His areas of specialization include Entrepreneurship, Creative Industries, Innovation Management, Development Finance and Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (MSME) development strategies.

Serving JBDC from its inception

Davis, a Creative and Design Thinker admits that witnessing as well as playing an integral role in the evolution of the JBDC from its genesis in 2001 to where it now stands, has been a rewarding achievement. JBDC’s role as a central part of the ecosystem and the level of respect it garners is quite remarkable.

A creative himself, Davis is a musician, singer, songwriter, and recording artiste with two studio albums released. It is no wonder that he has a special interest in the development of the Cultural & Creative Industries. 

He has played an instrumental role in the historic ‘Mapping of the Jamaica Cultural & Creative Industries’, a joint initiative between the JBDC and the British Council. His vision is to see JBDC increase its innovation efforts to provide even more solutions for the MSME sector. 

In the meantime, the MSME community has hailed Veira, who is regarded as the ‘Mother of Jamaican MSMEs’ for the nurturing, handholding, and advocacy, which has contributed immensely to business development and Jamaica’s economy.